The Israeli government has taken the drastic, if understandable, step of deciding that it should construct a physical barrier to keep Palestinians from infiltrating into Israeli territory. But instead of building the wall on the border demarcating where Israeli territory ends and Palestinian territory begins, they decided to snatch a bunch of Palestinian land and put it on the Israeli side of the fence. Thus, you get protests:

Peace activists with the International Solidarity Movement said Tristan Anderson, of the Oakland, Calif., area, was struck in the head with a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops. The military and the Tel Aviv hospital where Anderson was taken had no details on how he was hurt.

“He’s in critical condition, anesthetized and on a ventilator and undergoing imaging tests,” said Orly Levi, a spokeswoman at the Tel Hashomer hospital. She described Anderson’s condition as “life-threatening.”

The protest took place in the West Bank town of Naalin, where Palestinians and international backers frequently gather to demonstrate against the barrier. Israel says the barrier is necessary to keep Palestinian attackers from infiltrating into Israel. But Palestinians view it as a thinly veiled land grab because it juts into the West Bank at multiple points.

In fairness, it would be better for the protesters to stick to true non-violence and not throw rocks. But still, common sense says that you don’t defend Israel’s legitimate territorial claims by building a wall designed to encompass illegitimate claims.

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